Process of producing decorative sheet material



Jan. 28; 1936. J, J, JACKSON PRocEss oF PRoDUcING DECORATIVE SHEET MATERIAL Filed March 2, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 28, 1936. JACKSQN 2,028,781

PROCESS OF PRODUCING DECORATIVE SHEET MATERIAL F1a. a Y

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Patented Jan. 28, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE PROCESS 0F PRODUCING DECORATIVE SHEET MATERIAL Application March 2, 1933, Serial No. 659,433

21 Claims. (CL 91-68) This invention relates to decorative wear coverings for floors or other surfaces and to a method of preparing such coverings.

'I'he improvement relates generally to so called smooth surface coverings known to the trade and public as equivalents of or improvements for linoleum and painted coverings of either the cloth or felt-backed type.

The present invention includes a method of treating fibrous sheet material to obtain an improved, finished, decorative product having remarkable iiexibility, and toughness, and having clean-cut and well-dened decorations substantially throughout the thickness of the sheet. Coli oring material is applied in such a manner as t0 obtain greater penetration of decorative material than could be heretofore obtained for practical Purposes- In a preferred manner of conducting the present process, a backing composition comprising for instance oil or lacquer or both, is rst applied to one side of a brous sheet, and thereafter decorative material is applied to the other side. 'I'he amounts of materials and the interval permitted between the application of the materials to the two sides of the sheet are so controlled that the materials penetrating from both sides, preferably overlap within the body of the sheet. By this means, strength of the finished product is assured and splitting of the sheet into layers after drying is prevented.

By way of illustration, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional View of apparatus shown more or less diagrammatically and in a preferred arrangement;

Figs. 2 to 5 are cross sectional views of the product in various stages of the process;

Fig. 6 is a top View of the product shown in cross section in Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is al vertical sectional view of a portion of apparatus employed in a modied arrangement of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

The apparatus shown in Fig. 1 comprises a support l on 'which is mounted a roll of the fibrous sheet material 2, a trough 3 for holding material to be applied to one side of the sheet 2, and a print machine 4 for applying decorative coloring material to the opposite side of the sheet 2.V The sheet 2 passes between rolls 5 and 6, the latter being adapted to apply backing material 'l from the trough 3 to one side of the sheet 2. A doctor blade 8 is positioned adjacent the roll 6 and is adapted to vary the amount oi material applied to the sheet by swinging the blade on its hinge 9 toward or away from the roll 8.

' 'I'he roll 6 may be a roll having minute grooves, such as an engraving surface, cut in its surface or it may be a smooth-surfaced metal, rubber or felt roll. The type of roll used depends to some extent on the composition or viscosity ofl the material applied to the sheet and also on the amount of a given composition to be applied per unit area of sheet material.

The sheet passes from between the rolls 5 and 6 over a driven roll I0 and then to the print machine 4. Rolls 5 and 6 are driven to draw the sheet material from its original roll on the support I. The roll Ill is raised suillciently above the floor or the base of the print machine to provide for a proper drying interval and also to provide for a predetermined slack in the sheet material ahead of the print machine 4. 'I'he roll I0 is also preferably of large diameter so as not to bend the sheet too sharply, and to provide for proper control of the longitudinal movement of the sheet in accordance with the rate of passage of the sheet through the print machine.

In the operation of the apparatus just described, oil or lacquer or other materials mentioned herein are applied to one side of the fibrous sheet 2 by the roll 6, in an amount which penetrates uniformly into the sheet and preferably only part of the way through the body thereof. 'I'he individual fibres are coated and the backing materials preferably do not iill the voids between the fibres. The sheet 2 is drawn over the roll I0 and a slack is preferably provided in the sheet between this roll and the print machine 4 to take care of differences in speeds, if any, in the backing applying machine and in the print machine 4. The intermittent action ot the latter machine is an important factor that must be taken into account. The sheet is moved through the print machine with a step by step motion and during the momentary periods of rest the desired design units are applied. The sheet must therefore not be drawn at too high a rate through the backing applying means lest the slack should become too great.

Also just enough excess sheet material should be maintained at all times between the roll i0 and the print machine 4 to prevent the sheet from being taut at any time during the operation of the latter. A pronounced dip in the sheet is formed to provide this slack. Thus a ready supply of sheet material is easily drawn from and is always available to take care of variations of speed that usually occur in operating the print machine. o

The dip or bend in the sheet material between the roll I0 and the end of the print machine 4 may, if desired, be more pronounced in propori ing materials of the type tc-'be more specifically described below, it has been found that satisfactory results are obtained by having an average length of about thirteen feet of sheet material in the: dip and a horizontal distance of about seven and onehalf feet betweenthe center line of the roll I0 andthe rear end of the print machine 4. By maintaining a proper amount of slack in the fibrous sheet, the under side of the sheet to which the backing material is applied is somewhat stretched and the pores are opened, without undue strain on the fibres, to insure more rapid drying before the sheet reaches the print machine for appication of decorative material to the upper surface of the sheet.

The decorated sheet passes from the 'print machine 4 to various other units for further treatment, if desired. For instance, the sheet may be dried in a drying room, and after passing it through a drying room it may be passed through a saturant bath to render the finished product hard and wear resistant, in the manner set forth in my copending application Serial No. 659,434 l filed March 2, 1933. The present process is illustrated diagrammati- -cally in'Figs. 2 to 6 in the accompanying drawings. Fig. 2 illustrates the iirst stage in which one side of the fibrous sheet 2 is treated with backing material in such amount as will penerate part of the way through the body of the sheet to provide a backing layer I. Figs. 3 to 6 represent the second stage of the process in which decorative material is applied tothe opposite side of the said sheet as indicated by the diagonal color lines I 2. In Fig= 4 a different color, as represented by the vertical lines I3 has been applied. Decora-V tive coloring material may be applied solidly throughout as in the case of the light green color in Fig. 3 and the pink orA red color in Fig. 4, or the decorative coloring material may be applied in patterns, as illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 in which the portions I4 represent blue and the portions- I5 represent red, thus simulating a tile eect. In lieu of these geometrical figures illustrated in the drawings, the decorations may be of any shape or style. In the present process, designs of startling exactly. 7o

The print paints, inks, or dyes are lapplied in 'such an amount as tc.- penetrate well into the body oi' a fibrous sheet or substantially through the same. It is important to have the print paint and the backing material at least meet within the sheet or preferably overlap as shown at I6 in Fig. 4. In the latter instance there is a mechanical interlocking which takes pla-ce when the print paint and the backing materiai are dried in the sheet. By this interlocking the sheet is strengthened and splitting thereof into layers is prevented.

As shown in Fig. 7, one or more festoons in the sheet material may, if desired in certain cases, be

print machine as for instance between the roll Ill-and the print machine 4 as shown in Fig. 1. The festoons may be subjected to drying conditions in any well known manner. 'I'he sheet between the roll E1 at the end of the festoon arrangement and the print machine 4 ,is provided with a pronounced dip for the reasons above stated.

Although drying of the backing material has been specified, the sheet may be passed from the backing machine to the print machine, and cei- -formed between the hacking machine and the.

oring applied without completely drying the' y. tail in recent patents and in copending applications of Ralph G. Jackson, Serial Ne. 541,668,

led June 2, 1931 (now patent No. 1,993,779) and,

Serial N0. 634,057, led September 20, 1932 (now Patent 1,998,780). This new type of felt sheet is peculiar in that it has what may be defined as curled or kinky vegetable fibers of wood pulp or other cellulose fibers.

One characteristic appearance of the floor coverings made by the present invention from the curly fibre type ef sheet is the obtainable velvetyv texture of the surface which has an actual nap surface uness lacquered or varnished. It has been found that the tnal decorated and completed product is wear resisting, and will wear smoothiy and uniformly with even texture and is highly resistant to tearing strains.

Two outstanding characteristics of the felted pulp iibres are the curled condition of the fibres and the swelling ofthe 'bres Due to the fact that the fibres are swollen,-they make a mere open felt than previously known, also colo'r materiais such paints and dyes penetrate better than they do in providing similar treatment to other sheets, and also due to the fact that the fibres are curled-and hooked am? matted tdgether, the coloring materials, although they follow Ithe-fibre, dd not spread out iaterally so far as they would on brous materiai heretofore known, but on the other hand penetrate inwardly as rapidly and deeply as they extend laterally. For this reason, more definite lines may be formed in the resultant product by printing or otherwise applying decorations. The printed or colored lines are smoother on the edges due to the fact that the fibres are kinky and curly and do not extend in a particular direction in the sheet. Due to the shape of each fibre and the consequent interlocking of the fibres. a sheet of unusual strength is obtained. In this type of sheet, the surface may be roughened, that is, the nap may be raised, mechanically, after the sheet has been made. Due to the formation of the sheet, the fibres after being raised are hooked and matted together and do not loosen in'such ahway that they might tend to'be lost from the s ee Aithough the particular sheet referred to ab-ove has the property of absorbing liquid materials rapidly and of carrying coloring materials di` rectly inwardly without spreading laterally to as great an extent as in the case of ordinary felt, the present process makes it possible to permit the print paints to penetrate more uniformly, and more quickly. Also' by applying backing material and print paints to opposite sides of the sheets, the colorings penetrate farther. A thicker sheet can be used than otherwise and yet it will be of suiiicient flexibility. The goods can be wetted from the back with oil, to make up for the deciency of oil in the goods when it is desirable to put less oil in the goods from the face by means of print paints for instance.

'Ihe backing material may be a pigmented or clear oil or lacquer. An example of a highly desirable oil backing material isasV follows:

Bodied linseed oil with driers about 50 parts by weight, and petroleum benzene of a grade somewhat less refined than gasoline, about 50 parts by weight.

An example of a lacquer backing material is as follows:

to 35% by weight of solids andv 75% to 65% by weight of solvents, the solids comprising about v100 parts by weight of nitrocellulose (4 seconds), Y

150 parts by weight of blown castor oil,

20 to 50 parts by weight of raw castor oil, and

100 to 150 parts by weight of ochre.

Blown linseed oil may be substituted for 75% of the blown castor oil, if desired. A preferred solvent comprises 55 to 65 parts by weight of ethyl alcohol and 45 to 35 parts by weight (of parts by weight) of ethyl acetate.

Depending upon the quality oi? felt employed in the product of the present invention, the face of the goods may be wetted or moistened with a heavy bodied linseed oil and varnolene mixture in various proportions either before or directly after applying the backing material or, in other words, before applying decorative material to the face of the sheet, as disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 659,435 filed March 2, 1933. However, wetting the side of the sheet to which the decorative material is to be applied, generally weakens the appearance of the colors. From this standpoint, it is more advantageous to apply oil or lacquer material merely toi one side of the sheet, namely, the side opposite to which decorative material is applied.

Although oils and lacquers are mentioned for use in backing material, such materials as glue,

'- latex, casein, gums, and resins (artificial or natural) may also be used. Non-drying oils, as for instance castor oil, cottonseed oil, or pine oil, as well as drying oils may also be used. It is preferred to use such compositions as will reinforce the sheet material without closing the pores, will bind the iibres together so that they will remain in the same relative position in the sheet when the sheet is flexed, and will'have the desired adhesive properties for this purpose. Certain materials that can be applied hot and that harden by cooling, as for instance, waxes or the like may be used. Also materials that can be applied in liquid form and that are hardened Aby chemical treatment may be used, as for instance, plastics of various kinds. If dyes are used for printing the display surface it is found highly desirable to use dyes or other material compatible therewith in the backing material.y A pigmented backing material gives a uniform appearance to the back of the sheet material and hides any defects that might appear in the sheet or that might result from the printing of designs thereon.

The backing material applied to a sheet dries on the fibres of the sheet and increases their diameter thus decreasing the size of the voids between the fibres. The backing material thus tendsto dam the ow of decorative coloring through the sheet from the display face or opposite side. If paints or other decorative coloring materials do penetrate through from the face to the backing surface of the sheet, they do not pass through in such quantities as to result in a smeary appearance at the rear face. The colors of the decorated side of the sheet may be faintly or distinctly visible at the rear face depending on the amounts and nature of materials used for coloring and backing materials.

By first applying backing material to a brous sheet before passing it through the subsequent steps of the present process, the sheet is toughened in such a way that no cracks form by rolling. 'I'his is particularly true when lacquer is used as a backing material.

While the drawings, Figs. 2 to 4, indicate that the backing material penetrates a relatively short distance it is to be understood that enough backing material may be applied to follow the fibres of a sheet a predetermined distance or all the way through from one side to the other. Heavy viscous paints used on print blocks generally penetrate a less distance into a vsheet than dyes or inks and therefore when the said paints are used enough backing material is applied to at least contact with the inner portions of the paint layer in the sheet.

It is particularly to be noted that the use of the backing material must not close the space between the fibres within the sheet in such a way or to such an extent as to prevent the decorative material, applied from the opposite face, from satisfactorily supplying decorative coloring not only on the surface but as deep down into the sheet or completely through to the back coating as may be desired. Such material as is applied to the rear face and extends perceptibly into the sheet serves as a conditioner for the reception of decorative coloring applied to opposite face.

The invention has been disclosed herein for illustrative purposes for making the product in its preferred embodiment, but it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description.

What I claim is:

l. A process of manufacturing decorative sheet material which process comprises applying a quick-drying, penetrating, oil-containing liquid to one side of a porous fibrous sheet material, controlling the amount ofv said liquid applied to the sheet to effect penetration and avoid lling of the pores within the sheet, and applying decorative coloring material to the opposite side of the said porous sheet to permit penetration of the coloring material well down into the body of the sheet after the oil-containing liquid has penetrated through the sheet part of the way.

2. A process of manufacturing decorative sheet material which process comprises applying oilcontaining liquid to one side of a porous fibrous sheet material, controlling the amount of said liquid applied to the sheetv so that penetration is only part of the way but a substantial distance through the sheet, passing the resulting sheet to a print machine and maintaining a slack in y, between the point at which the liquid is applied and the print machine, and applying decorative material to the opposite side of the porous sheet and permitting the decorative material to penetrate well down into the body of the sheet.

3. A'process of manufacturing decorative sheet material which process comprises applying oilcontaining liquid to one side of a porous fibrous sheet material, controlling the amount 'of said liquid appliedl to the sheet so that penetration is only part of the way but a substantial distance through the sheet, drying the sheet while passing it in slack formation to a print machine to provide an interval for penetration of the said liquid and for conditioning of the sheet, and applying decorative material to the. opposite side of the porous sheet and permitting the decorative material to penetrate well down into the body of the sheet.

4. A process of manufacuring decorative sheet material which process comprises applying oilcontaining liquid to one side of a sheet composed of chemically vcurled and swollen cellulose bres, the said oil-containing liquid being applied to condition the sheet and promote rapid penetration of decorative coloring material into the body of the sheet when applied to the opposite side thereof, drying the said sheet, and applying decorative coloring material to the opposite side of the said sheet.

5. A process of manufacturing decorative sheet material which process comprises applying quickdrying oil-containing liquid to one side of a sheet composed of chemically curled and kinkedcellulose fibres, controlling the amount of said liquid applied to the sheet so that there is uniform penetration only part of the way but a substantial distance through the sheet, drying the saidl sheet,

' and applying decorative coloring material to the opposite side of the said sheet.

6. A process of manufacturing decorative sheet material which process comprises applying a solution of a drying oil in volatile solvent to one side of a fibrous sheet to effect rapid penetration of decorative coloring material directly into the body of the sheet when applied to the opposite side thereof, drying the said sheet, and applying decorative coloring material to the opposite side of the sheet.

7. A process of manufacturing decorative sheet material which process comprises applyingl a lacquer to one side of a brous ysheet to effect rapid penetration of decorative coloring material directly into the body of the Isheet when applied to the opposite side thereof, drying the said sheet, and applying decorative coloring material to the opposite side of the sheet.

8. A process of manufacturing decorative sheet material which process comprises applying a quick-drying pigmented oil and solvent mixture to one side of a fibrous sheet, drying the said sheet while permitting penetration'of the said mixture a substantial proportion of the distance through the sheet. and applying decorative coloring material to the opposite side of the sheet.

9. A process of manufacturing decorative sheet material whichl process comprises applying a quick-drying pigmented lacquer to one side of a fibrous sheet whilepermitting penetration of the said lacquer a substantial proportion of the distance through the sheet. drying the said sheet, and applying decorative coloring material tothe opposite side of the sheet.

10. A process of manufacturing decorative sheet material which process comprises applying lacquer to one side of a. sheet composed of curly and kinky cellulose fibres to condition the sheet and promote rapid penetration of decorative coloring material directly into the body of the sheet when applied to the opposite side thereof, drying the said sheet while permitting penetration of the' sheet thereby forming an oil-impregnated layer,v

and thereafter applying decorative paint material to the opposite side of the sheet in sumoient amount to penetrate into the sheet and contact with the oil-impregnated layer within the body of the sheet.

12. A process of manufacturing decorative sheet material which process comprises applying lacquer to one side of a fibrous sheet in suflicient amount to penetrate only part of the way but a substantial distance through the sheet thereby forming a lacquer-impregnated layer, and thereafter applying decorative paint material to the opposite side of the sheet in siriiicient amount to penetrate into the sheet and contact with the lacquer-impregnated layer within the body of the sheet.

13. A process of manufacturing decorative sheet material which process comprises applying oil-` containing liquid to one side of a sheet composed of curly and kinky cellulose bres in sufcient amount to penetrate only part of the way but a substantialy distance through the sheet thereby forming an oil-impregnated layer, and thereafter applying decorative paint material to the opposite side of the sheet in sufficient amount to penetrate into the sheet and contact with the oilimpregnated layer within the body of the sheet.

14. A process of manufacturing decorative sheet material which process comprises applying lacquer to one side of a sheet composed `of curly and kinky cellulose fibres in suicient amount to penetrate only part of the way but a substantial distance through the sheet thereby forming a lacquer-impregnated layer, and thereafter applying decorative paint material to the opposite side of the sheet in sufficient amount to penetrate into the sheet and to uniformly contact with the lacquer-impregnated layer Within the body of the sheet.

15. A process of manufacturing decorative sheet material which process comprises applying liquid material comprising at least one of a group including oil, lacquer, glue, latex, casein. to one side of a porous fibrous sheet to condition it but not completely ll the spaces between the fibers, and applying decorative coloring material to the opposite side of the sheet thus conditioned.

16. A process of manufacturing decorative sheet material which process comprises applying a mixture containing oil and pigment to one side of a porous brous sheet to Acondition it but not completely fill the spaces between the fibres, and applying decorative coloring material to the opposite side of the sheet.

17. A process of manufacturing decorative sheet materialwhich process comprises applying a liquid backing composition to one side of a porous fibrous sheet to condition it but notcompletely ll the spaces between the flbres, and then applying a decorative coloring material selected from a group comprising paints, dyes and inks, to the opposite side of the sheet.

18. A process of manufacturing decorative sheet material which process comprises applying a dye to a porous fibrous sheet to serve as a backing on one side of the said sheet, and applying dye materials for decorative purposes to the opposite side of the said sheet.

19. A process of manufacturing decorative sheet material, which process comprises applying oil containing liquid to one side of a brous sheet material, controlling the amount of said liquid applied to the sheet so that penetration is only part of the way but a substantial distance through the sheet, applying a solution containing a drying oil to the opposite side of the sheet so as to moistenthe fibres in the sheet and to penetrate well into said sheet, and immediately thereafter applying decorative coloring material to said opposite side and causing it to penetrate the sheet therewith.

20. A process of manufacturing decorative sheet material, which process comprises applying lacquer to one side of a brous sheet material, controlling the amount of said lacquer applied to the sheet so that penetration is only part of the way but a substantial distance through the sheet, applying a solution containing a drying oil to the opposite side of the sheet so as to moisten the bres in the sheet and to penetrate well into said sheet, and immediately thereafter applying decorative coloring material to said opposite side and causing it to penetrate the sheet therewith.

21. A process of manufacturing decorative sheet material which comprises applying a liquid backing composition to one side of a porous brous sheet material in a regulated amount to effect penetration into the body of the sheet while avoiding lling of the spac` between the fibers g Within the body of the sheet, and thereafter ap- 

